Drider
by Valenka
Summary: "Please don't kill me!" Did she just speak? Driders couldn't speak, they communicated via chirps, hisses and a strange little click noise, they didn't speak.
1. A Walk In The Woods

Another day another deal, frankly Rumple needed an interesting deal not the usual help-us-we're-dying ones. He'd made his latest with a farmer whose daughter was dying, in return for saving young Lucy 's life the farmer would hand over the horseshoe that had been in his family for generations, it seemed useless to the farmer but that was because he had no magic. Unfortunately for the Dark One what ailed the little girl was slightly harder to cure than a flamboyant wave of his hand and a few days in bed, to keep his end of the bargain he had to make a potion, the key ingredient of which w as Lyroot which only grew in Drider Forest. Long ago back when Rumple had been mortal it had been known as Bear Forest on account of how many of the things roamed the wood, but then the Driders had infested the trees and killed all the bears; with that Drider Forest had been born.

Lucy's father knew he stood no chance against the terrifying creatures and had two other daughters to think about, that was the only reason he'd consented to the Dark One's deal at all. No mortal in their right mind entered Drider Forest, and on the off chance that someone did it was highly unlikely they'd come out alive. However, Rumpelstiltskin was no mortal man he was an omnipotent monster and feared no Drider.

Thick canopy high above his head blocked out most of the sunlight keeping everything dark and eerie, occasional whistles reverberated off the trees a hardly there reminder that danger lurked everywhere and rain came down hard. It always rained in Drider Forest so he pulled his hood up . Rumple walked through the forest in search of the Lyroot – a horrid tasting substance that looked rather similar to ginger – while taking care not to step on any silk tripwires hungry Driders may have set.

Lyroot had always been hard to find and even with his magic Rumple found himself struggling to locate any until finally, _finally_ , he came across some nestled in a small clearing surrounded by web; the whole set up screamed trap. Any human would have been stuck in seconds but Rumpelstiltskin found it rather easy to get through even in his thick dragon hide coat. He easily pulled the fowl smelling root from the ground and brushed off the soil, some of which got stuck underneath his sharp black claws. He had the Lyroot and was just about to stand back up when suddenly a gargantuan Drider dropped down from the canopy and knocked him to the ground, Rumpelstiltskin actually found himself a little impressed that it had managed to sneak up on him.

She hissed violently but Rumpelstiltskin knew she couldn't see his unimpressed expression under his hood. There was no way he was going to be eaten by a giant bloody spider, so with a single wave of his hand she went flying across the clearing and into a moss covered tree. Rumple rose to his feet and brushed himself off, he wasn't stupid, he'd heard the painful _crack_ that meant one – possibly even two – broken legs. That Drider wasn't going to launch at him again if she knew what was good for her. The Dark One watched with just a hint of curiosity as she tried to stand but she couldn't support her full weight on only six legs, the creature fell to the ground beside the tree and let out a yelp of pain.

Well, he had things to do, deals to make, but when Rumple raised his hand to kill her and be on his merry way something happened that forced him to a halt.

"Please don't kill me!"

 _Did she just speak?_ Driders couldn't speak, they communicated via chirps, hisses and a strange little click noise, they didn't speak.

"You can talk." Stated Rumple in amazement, his eyebrows raised as he pulled the hood down to really look at her.

"Please don't kill me!" She pleaded again and shuffled desperately backwards against the tree. "I know I'm a monster but please don't kill me."

This Drider was afraid of him and that meant she was intelligent; only idiots chose to be unafraid of him . The big powerful Drider was scared of a human, an incredibly powerful human but still. From the waist upwards she was just a terrified young woman with flowing auburn hair, porcelain skin and tears running down her face . Rumpelstiltskin knew all too well what it was like to be a monster and this girl didn't strike him as one despite her eight large black legs that glistened in the rain.

"I'll let you live today, little Drider. I don't usually let anyone live, remember that, dearie."

He gestured towards her broken legs to heal them and then he was gone, vanished in a puff of purple-green smoke.

~X~

Rumple had concluded his deal with the farmer the next day, collected his horseshoe and added it to his collection. He sipped his tea and enjoyed the fact Regina hadn't bothered him in almost two weeks – which meant she was probably gearing up for her usual _'I want Snow dead'_ speech yet again – clearly she'd not learnt that if she wanted the girl dead she shouldn't have fed her poison apples or sleeping curses or bloody monologuing, she should have just _killed_ her. However, despite all that, the Dark One found his mind constantly returning to the strange little Drider he'd spared in the forest, Rumple was curious about her to say the least. He'd lived a very long time and never heard of a Drider speaking ; t hey weren't like Mermaids. Finding curiosity had gotten the better of him Rumple set aside his half drunk tea and poofed up to his tower to go through his books. He possessed a fairly ancient leather bound book that he'd taken off of the great and powerful Oz, though Rumpelstiltskin wasn't too sure what exactly was so great and powerful about him, he was just a magic-less idiot.

The golden-green skinned man flicked through the thick, off-white pages until he came to an ink drawing of a Drider. The section wasn't that substantial and didn't really contain anything interesting or that he didn't already know, Rumple wanted to know more about the species though. He picked up a small scrap of parchment and scribbled down three words, my castle now, then sent it off to its recipient with a small flourish of his right hand; Rumple knew he'd not be kept waiting long.

Sure enough by the time he'd returned to his cooling tea and his spinning wheel Jefferson appeared dressed in his usual black leather coat and top hat over messy hair.

"You called." Grinned the Mad Hatter. "What can I and my hat do for you, Rumple?"

The younger man waisted no time helping himself to tea while Rumpelstiltskin leaned himself against the large, dark wood table.

"There is a certain book that belongs to the Sultan of Agrabah, all about Driders. He has it in his collection somewhere, fetch it for me."

"Sure, but why not do it yourself?" Asked Jefferson as he gulped down his tea. "It would probably be quicker."

"You're talking yourself out of gold, Jefferson." Grinned Rumpelstiltskin. "And yes, I could get in and out quicker but I have no idea exactly where it is, I also have things to do. You can skulk around Agrabah and search for it."

"Fine, book all about Driders, easy."

"Good, help yourself to as much gold as you deep appropriate upon your return, dearie ." He giggled. "Have fun in Agrabah."

"I hate sand but it's better than bloody Wonderland. I'll be back with your book soon." Jefferson made to walk away but stopped and turned back a few feet from the door. "If I get caught looking for a book-"

"You want me to come sailing to your rescue, I know, dearie. Off you go."

The realm jumper bid Rumple a good-day with one of those scoundrel smiles of his then vanished off into his hat leaving the Dark One to his own thoughts. He'd intended to spin at his wheel but soon found himself back in his chair with a second cup of tea in one hand while the fingers of his other drummed against the hard wood; his mind repeatedly returning to the strange Drider. How had she even heard enough human speech to learn to talk? He'd not even been aware they were capable of communication beyond their chirps and whistles, then again no one had ever studied such the dangerous creatures before. Maybe Driders were more than just mindless beasts, the one he'd come across had managed to sneak up on him with ease and had clearly been intelligent.

Suddenly Rumpelstiltskin shook his head to throw thoughts of the giant spider from his mind, and set back to work. He didn't care about the creature unless she was useful to him... and she wasn't.


	2. Doctors And Deals

Two days after Rumple had sent Jefferson to Agrahah he returned with the sort after book in hand, a disgruntled expression coated his handsome features. Jefferson marched into the Dark Castle's salon where he found Rumpelstiltskin at his wheel spinning more gold than he could ever spend and tossed the book down into his leather clad lap.

"You're book."

"Much obliged, Jefferson." Said the golden-green skinned man as he stood and carried the book over to his long table with a look of glee. "Help yourself to whatever gold you'd like."

Jefferson chuckled to himself and quickly grabbed everything in the small bowl beside Rumpelstiltskin's spinning wheel, he loved gold.

"That book had better be important, Rumple. The Sultan's castle is huge and a bloody tiger tried to eat me!"

Rumple giggled in that high-pitched tone of his as he started to flick through the black leather book.

"That would be Rajah, Princess Jasmine's constant companion." He suddenly spun around to face the younger man with a pondering look on his sharp features. "Did I not mention the tiger?"

"Nah, you left that bit out. Anyway, what's with the sudden interest in Driders? They're monsters."

"Aren't we all." Replied Rumple flatly.

"That's not what I meant. You can't made deals with them, can't even get close to one without it trying to turn you into soup. They're not friendly and don't talk."

"Maybe they can. I know at least one can because she begged me not to kill her."

Jefferson raised an eyebrow at that and just stared at the sorcerer for a moment.

"Talking Drider, didn't see that one coming." He stuffed the ball of gold thread into his long coat. "So," Jefferson clapped his hands together. "what's the plan? Keep it as a pet?"

"Now why would I reveal my plan to you?"

"Because I'm your friend?" Teased the younger man.

"You're more of a glorified acquaintance."

In truth – despite Rumpelstiltskin's insistence that he neither needed nor wanted friends – Jefferson was the closest thing to a friend the Dark One had.

"Charming. Well, bye-bye and enjoy your book."

Jefferson gave an obscenely low bow as he backed out of the room and off to do whatever it was he did when not irritating Rumpelstiltskin.

XXXX

Over the course of several days – none of which time he had gotten any sleep – Rumple learnt that the book he'd sent Jefferson off to get wasn't actually that helpful as to the abilities of Driders or, in fact, any other aspect of the giant spiders. However, there were several reasonably details sketches of the creatures; a small boon. All the diagrams seemed to be of male Driders though and the golden-green skinned man wondered if the females were rarer or – more likely – better at staying hidden, the one that he'd met had managed to creep up on the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms without him having any clue until she pounced. Unfortunately for Rumple the drawings were all by different artists and none seemed to be too consistent with the others, some showed the creatures to be entirely black skinned with thin legs that frankly made him want to cringe, while others appeared more tarantula like. Of course it was possible that the drawings had come from several different realms and showed a wide variety of Drider but he found it easier to believe that half of the sketches were actually more imagination than fact.

The Drider he'd 'had the altercation with' hadn't had eight thick hairy legs or pitch black skin on her human torso, she'd had large legs yes but they'd been dark and smooth, almost reminiscent to the shell of a lobster and the color of onyx. Her spider abdomen was rounded almost like a bulb just as one would expect of a spider magical or not and unlike the drawings suggested her human half had porcelain skin and flowing auburn hair. Had Rumpelstiltskin only seen her from the waist upwards he'd have thought her a princess who'd gotten lost in the woods.

The book talked about their use of chirps, whistles and clicks to communicate with one another but never even theorised as to an ability to form sentences, then there was the fact that – because they we're traditionally solitary creatures – no one had ever even been able to speculate as to what the sounds meant.

It seemed that it wasn't just Rumpelstiltskin that had an intellectual blind spot when it came to Driders. They had a very powerful venom that was extraordinarily difficult to obtain but highly useful for potions and their silk was stronger than the best knights armour. That was literally all the knowledge he could gather about her-them, he meant them, Rumple couldn't help that she'd captured his attention, he'd gotten curious and when the Dark One got curious he learned everything he could... but the book was utterly useless!

XXXX

Another week another set of happy deal makers, well, sort of happy, they'd gotten what they asked for anyway. Rumple was about to indulge himself in some spinning at his wheel in the Dark Castle's salon when a sudden gust of cold air hurtled into his dragonhide clad back indicating the arrival of a certain mad realm jumper. With a sigh the sorcerer set his straw down and turned to face Jefferson with a questioning look.

"And for what reason am I being graced by your presence?" Asked the older man from his stool and flashed him an expression that said 'what do you want, Jefferson'.

"Hey." Chuckled the dark-haired man a little awkwardly. "What makes you think I want something? Maybe I just came to have tea with you like friends do."

"Doubtful, dearie. Drop the act."

"Fair enough." The man sighed. "Victor wants to see you and asked if I'd come get you."

"And you just leapt into action, getting a little friendly with the good doctor aren't we." The Dark One teased.

"Well, every boy loves a determined doctor." Laughed Jefferson as he perched himself on the table end closest to Rumple.

"Until I decided to visit the Land Without Color you didn't know what a 'doctor' was."

"And I'm grateful for you educating me. Now, are you coming or do I have to throw you in the hat?"

Rumple rose to his feet. "I'd like to see you try, dearie, but since I don't have anything better to do lead the way."

Jefferson hopped down off the table and threw his dark top hat down onto the floor, it spun around and around to create a vortex and then the two men jumped. It didn't take long to get to the Land Without Color and even less time for Victor's manor house to come into view. The ever present grey filter over the world made it look like night but in truth the sun shone high in the sky and birds chirped.

"I got him, Victor!" Announced the realm jumper as he and the Dark One descended the steep steps to Doctor Frankenstein's laboratory.

Victor spun around from his work bench to face the two other men and offered each a polite smile. His hair had been combed and parted in the middle as always and his lab coat was buttoned all the way up.

"Thank you, Jefferson, it is greatly appreciated." Said Victor in that strangely enticing accent of his.

Rumple huffed. "If you two are done throwing longing glances at one another can we get to business?"

"That's not what-" The blonde tried to say but the sorcerer cut him off.

"Yes you were. Now, what do you want, Doctor?"

The doctor came closer.

"Venom. The discoveries to be made could be eminence."

Victor always seemed so enthusiastic about his work, so passionate and driven, it was actually a trait Rumple admired.

"You have venomous animals here, surly you can obtain some without my help." Replied the Dark One.

"Yes, that is true, but not the venom I am after."

"We have a lot of creatures that this land doesn't, and I thought since you're becoming the authority on Driders you'd be able to get him some." Said Jefferson in a hopeful tone.

The blonde rubbed his hands together. "Yes, this Drider, half human and half spider, their venom could be miraculous for the scientific world. Who knows what medicines could be made."

Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow, Jefferson was the cause of all this. However, if he wanted to learn more about the Driders he was going to have to go back to Drider Forest, so it wasn't as if Rumple would have to go out of his way.

"Alright." The deal maker agreed. "But you know there is always a price, you must do something for me, dear doctor."

"Which is?" Victor prepared himself for some over the top price but Rumple just giggled.

"Say it."

"No." Victor said firmly.

"Then you'll not get your venom, and don't send Jefferson because it'll be the death of him."

The blonde sighed, they were just words and Rumpelstiltskin's price could have been far worse.

"Fine!" He huffed. "... I need magic."

Rumple giggled again in that psychotic tone of his. "Yes you do and you have yourself a deal. You'll have it tomorrow."

"So quickly?" Victor's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Jefferson lead me to believe these Driders were vicious and uncooperative beasts."

"Aren't we all, and I'm immortal dearie, death by Drider isn't something that concerns me. As I said, you'll have your venom tomorrow. Anything else?"

Victor shook his head so Rumple turned to make his way back up the steps but Jefferson's excited voice stopped him.

"Ooh, can I have some silk?"

"What for and what do I get for it?"

"So as I can make a new hat and you'll get my eternal gratitude. Call it an early birthday present."

Rumple huffed, he wasn't a merchant, but Jefferson had done much for him over the years and not all had been a deal, he supposed he could do the taller man this one small favour. _But I'm not making a habit of it!_

"Fine, tomorrow."

That night in his castle Rumpelstiltskin didn't move from his wheel, the day had been relatively dull despite his trip to the Land Without Color. People always wanted their _happily ever afters,_ gold or power... after three hundred or more years it had grown boring. Predictable. Maybe he should have made an attempt to sleep, he didn't really need to and on the few occasions he did actually fall into bed he'd been plagued by nightmares. _Still maybe this time will be different_ he decided and trudged up to his room.


	3. Of All The Driders

By early afternoon Rumpelstiltskin was ready to transport himself to Drider Forest and seek out one of the monstrous creatures to obtain some silk and venom from... as well as satisfy his curiosity. When the purple puff of smoke vanished into the air Rumple looked around the damp forest, it was raining as usual but much softer than it had on his previous visit, he wasn't too far from where he'd met the talking creature but that didn't mean he'd ever come across that particular Drider again. He pulled his hood up to prevent himself getting wet.

Long ago when he'd first set foot in the forest it had been to aid a little boy who'd reminded him so much of Bae, his parents had believed a monster or witch had done something horrendous to their son but in actuality he'd just picked up some dormant magic from one of his parent's bloodline. The boy – Doru – was a shape shifter, extremely rare and stronger that werewolves. Still, the parents had wanted the power gone but Rumpelstiltskin had refused, taking away that boy's magic would have been like cutting his arm off so instead he'd offered them a potion that would help control the boy's changes until he was old enough to know what he was doing. They'd not liked it but had been smart enough not to argue with the Dark One, he'd gathered everything he needed from Drider Forest and never heard from the family again.

It only took about fifteen minutes of walking randomly through the forest before he came across fresh web trap lines on the ground and snaked around trees with little pearls of water clinging to the strands almost magically. Knowing a Drider wouldn't be far away Rumple pressed his food down on one of the sticky trap lines, any normal man would have stuck almost instantly but he was no normal man, however he needed the Drider to think he was stuck and a good meal. Less than a minute later he heard rustling high up in the trees as one of the creatures slithered through the thick canopy. He'd expected it to just launch down on him from above but instead he heard the Drider lower itself down behind him careful and quiet. Rumple turned ready to pounce and unstuck his leather boot as he went but came to a very sudden halt. Of all the Driders in all the forest he had to find her.

"We meet again, little Drider."

The Drider's eyes went wide with fear when she heard his voice and Rumpelstiltskin pulled down his hood so as she could finally see his face, she looked to be on the boarder of remaining or running away and truth be told he'd expected the latter but instead the Drider with auburn hair proved just how courageous she really was and spoke.

"Are you back to kill the monster?" She asked timidly and Rumple couldn't help but laugh.

"Dearie, take it from someone that knows, you're no monster." She didn't believe him. "Humans fear you because you're not like them, humans have a habit of making monsters out of what they don't understand."

"They don't fear Mermaids." She replied softly, _brave little thing._

"No one is afraid of fish, dearie, they do fear spiders though. And anyone with a brain in their head knows Mermaids are dangerous, annoying creatures." He took a step closer and found himself proud when she didn't back away from him, she had size on her side – was a full two feet over his head – but he had the power. "I know monsters and you really aren't."

"How would you know?"

Rumple found it strangely refreshing to find someone – some _thing_? - that had no idea who or what he was.

"Because you're talking to the Dark One." He dropped into an overly flamboyant and low bow but when he rose back to his full height she had her eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Who?"

It wasn't overly surprising that she'd got no idea who he was but it sort of took the wind out of his sail. He'd gone into that forest expecting a fight not a pleasant conversation.

"You don't get out of the forest much, do you?" He asked rhetorically. "The Dark One, all powerful sorcerer, Rumpelstiltskin, at your service."

"If you're not here to kill me why are you here?" She asked, the initial fear had left her eyes leaving them a sparkling azure color.

"Straight to business, I like that, little Drider." He cleared his throat. "I require some of your silk and venom."

She looked him up and down a few times and Rumpelstiltskin just waited to hear what she wanted in return but it never came.

"Alright, but I've just set down new alarm lines so the only silk I have is in my den. Is it trapping you want the silk for, something strong to hold prey or do you intend to craft something from it?"

"... The latter."

Rumpelstiltskin eventually replied, she was just going to give him what he asked for without getting anything in return. Rumple wasn't used to things being freely given but then it occurred to him that she didn't know his favourite pastime and probably had no knowledge of deals.

"Okay, follow me but watch your step."

This creature went against everything known about Driders, she wasn't vicious or mindless, far from it. As they walked Rumple slowly found himself growing more and more curious about her and her kin, she'd made no attempt to kill him and her fear had all but vanished as soon as she'd discovered he wasn't entirely human. This little Drider was a complete riddle to him.

Eventually they came to a reasonably tall cliff base, the rock was covered over by thick patches of green moss and soaking wet thanks to the constant rain.

"There's an opening on that ledge up there." She pointed one of those long slender arms up to an indentation about fifteen meters above his head. "Can you climb?"

"No need, deaire, give me your hand."

He held out his clawed golden-green hand for the Drider to take, mainly out of curiosity to see if she actually would or not. She looked at him for a moment with caution then finally slipped her hand into his, she was far warmer than he'd expected and her skin was soft unlike his own. As soon as he had a hold of her hand he transported them up to the opening she'd pointed to, the Drider wobbled about on unsteady legs which Rumple actually found a little amusing though he didn't smile just let it glint in his reptilian eyes. How someone who could climb up trees and hang upside down on the ceiling wobbled was almost beyond him.

She took a few moments to get her balance back and then led the way into her den made of an old cave, long lines of silk covered the smooth grey walls, it wasn't overly large but Rumple doubted she did little more than sleep in there.

"I'll get you a spool of silk." She said softly before heading off to the back of the cave.

"Why do you have your silk spooled?"

"It seemed logical to have some spare for emergencies. Sometimes I have a lot of lines to repair, birds get stuck in them a lot."

 _Not only can she speak but she's got the intelligence to think ahead, lovely._ He'd probably learnt more about the Drider species in the last ten minutes than anyone else in history.

"Very wise." He replied as she rummaged around at the back of the small cave.

"Here." She returned to his side and held out a thick spool of delicate but very strong silk for him to take which he did. "Do you have something for my venom?"

Quickly he conjured up a small glass vial and handed it over, the use of his magic still amazed her. Rumpelstiltskin watched her venom fill the vial, almost completely transparent but had a hint of a caramel color to it. It dripped from her fang easily like water trickling over rocks in a stream. When the vile was half full her venom came slowly to a stop and carefully returned it to him.

"Is that enough?"

"That'll do nicely, thank you dearie."

Rumple made quick work of shoving the cork stopper into the vile and tucked it inside his hooded cape, Doctor Frankenstein would be happy.

"It's getting dark and none of my trap lines have been triggered other than the one you set off, I should sleep."

The Dark One watched as she made her way over to the little nest of silk, branches and animal hide over in the far corner, her legs curled underneath her as she settled down.

"I must confess, I'm not used to being freely given things." Said Rumple as he turned the spool of silk over in his hands. "I was expecting you to ask for something in return."

"You didn't kill me and you healed my legs, you've done more than enough for me already." She shuffled her legs around trying to get comfortable. "And besides, what I want you couldn't give me."

Oh now that got the Dark One's attention. The Drider sighed and refused to look at him.

"I want to leave this forest, and even though you could easily take me somewhere else like you did earlier I wouldn't be safe; I'll never be safe. Anywhere I went humans would either run screaming or try to kill me."

That was unfortunately true, humans seemed to prefer to kill first and ask questions later, anywhere he sent her she'd be in danger; Drider Forest was the best place for her. She eventually got her legs comfortable and stretched her arms before rubbing a hand lightly over her stomach.

"And I'm hungry." She muttered absent-mindedly to herself, a tiny little thought that had slipped out without her even knowing.

Rumple raised a curious eyebrow – something he'd done repeatedly since coming across the young creature again – he wasn't worried about her going hungry or the fact she seemed content enough with his presence to settle down and sleep.

"If you're hungry why don't you go and hunt?" He'd expected her to do most of her hunting at night.

"This forest is infested with my kind." She told him mid-yawn. "We don't see each other very often but we know the others are there. The animals know too and they vanish at night because it's when most of us hunt." She settled her head down. "Goodnight Rumple... silk... Rumple."

She couldn't pronounce his name and he didn't correct her.

"Goodnight little Drider." The Dark One turned to leave but turned back when a thought came to mind. "What's your name?"

"... I don't have one. We live alone and don't stay with our parents so there's no point." She sighed. "We only really see one another when it's mating season, which I'm not looking forwards to."

Rumpelstiltskin wanted to ask why but seeing she was almost asleep he chose to keep the question to himself. He vanished and left the girl to her bed.

XXXX

The Drider with auburn hair tied out of the way in a loose ponytail over her shoulder woke to the scent of food, she sniffed at the air for a moment before her cerulean orbs finally fluttered open and her stomach rumbled. The creature blinked away sleep and glanced upwards to where Rumpel...sti- whatever his name was, had been stood the night before. There stacked up were three fresh deer, she beamed, no one – human or otherwise – had ever been nice to her before and it warmed the creature's heart.

"Thank you, Rumple." She muttered to the air as though he could somehow hear her.


	4. A New Lease Of Life

Rumpelstiltskin sat at the head of his large table in the salon with a quill and several sheets of paper, he'd been writing down all he'd learn from the little Drider the night before, there was much crossing out and word changes but that was alright since it was his first draft. Once he was done and had learnt all he could it would just be another feather in his cap however, that niggling urge to learn everything about the species would be satisfied. He'd started to feel she should have had a name, not for any sentimental purposes but because constantly writing 'the female Drider' had started to grow tiresome and bland, yet since she didn't have one there wasn't much he could do.

When he'd finally finished Rumple realised that it still wasn't that much information in the grand scheme of things, it was more information that anyone had learnt in two-hundred years but still only three paragraphs of text. So far he'd got a pamphlet on the animals rather than the book he'd desired. Driders were the blind spot in his omniscience.

He'd had Jefferson go after every scrap of information he heard word of but there was still little information, mostly just exaggerated tales of their ferocity and speed. Speaking of the Hatter, he'd been very pleased with his silk and Victor had started working before Rumple had even finished handing the vile of venom over. Suddenly an idea came to mind, maybe he should have taken a leaf out of Doctor Frankenstein's book and find himself a test subject for his work, and he knew exactly where one was. _Oh this could work nicely._

Rumple stacked the pages up neatly and closed the lid on his ink well before transporting himself back to the Drider's cave in a puff of purple-green smoke. The scent of cooking meat caressed his nostrils when he landed, the cave was far colder than his castle and he almost wished he'd brought a coat. He looked around to find the Drider with her long black legs curled under her beside a small fire eating one of the dear he'd left for her.

"I thought Driders liquidised their meals like regular spiders." He said as she paused mid bite.

She wiped a hand over her face as she set the slab of cooked meat down and smiled up at him. _Why is she smiling at me? No one smiles at me unless they're trying to kill or unnerve me... or are Jefferson but he's mad._ Rumple would never admit it – not even to himself – but her smile was beautiful.

"We can do for large prey but for smaller things like birds, it's not really practical." It amazed him that she offered information so freely. "I saw humans cooking once and decided to try it. I like it, it's different." She paused for a split second. "Would you like some? You did leave them for me."

"No, little Drider, I came to make a deal not for breakfast."

Actually when he thought about it, other than his tea Rumple couldn't remember when he'd last eaten; it wasn't as though he were going to starve. The creature brushed off here hands and rose up to her full intimidating height forcing the Dark One to crane his neck.

"If you need more of my venom you just have to ask."

 _This Drider has better manners and is more polite that most humans I've met,_ muttered the imp's mind.

"I want something else, little Drider. I've decided to study your kind but I find that very little is known about the species. So I propose a deal, let me study you and record all my findings, who knows maybe I'll find more uses for your venom in my potions."

"And in return? You said this was a deal."

Her eyes shone with curiosity and Rumple still refused to admit she was beautiful.

"You want out of this dreary little forest, accept my deal and I'll let you stay in my castle. It's high up in the mountains, the nearest village is half a days walk away and my castle is protected by my magic so no one will harm you there."

Her eyes lit up, she'd longed for years to escape Drider Forest and there he was offering her his home for nothing more than some knowledge about her kind.

"All I have to do is tell you about myself?" There had to be more, she was getting so much more from him that he was of her.

"Yes, dearie... and since you can climb walls maybe you could clean the chandeliers." He added as a jested after thought.

He watched her mull it over for a second or two but it was obvious she would agree to his deal, she had no reason not to. Of course he'd not specified how long she could remain with him so once he was done with her he'd toss her back out into the wilds, deal over and done with.

"I don't know what a chandelier is but deal." She nodded assuredly.

"That's what I like to hear. No turning back now, little Drider."

Rumple offered his hand for her to take and without a moment's thought she took it and the two vanished off to the Dark Castle. They landed at the gates to his castle, he could have just set them down in the salon but why not indulge her dreams of somewhere new? She looked around in utter amazement, it seemed all gold and shimmering rock, there were flags on every turret that danced in the breeze and the sky was so blue it almost blinded her. With a swish of his scaled hand the silver gates opened and the two made their way inside, up the long path surrounded by colorful flowers towards the castle doors. She'd never seen anything so stunning in all her life.

"This is beautiful!" She exclaimed as soon as they stepped foot inside his castle.

"I suppose it is, dusty though." Rumple replied dismissively before pointing upwards. "For future reference that is a chandelier. Come, I'll show you to your room." As he led her up the stairs he found himself grateful for the large hallways and doors, a Drider wasn't exactly a small creature. "You can go anywhere in the castle but some doors will be locked, don't try to force them. The West Wing tower is my workroom , stay out of there unless invited." She nodded as he turned a corner, a moment of silence past by where the Drider gazed at the artwork and all the things she'd never seen before until Rumpelstiltskin started to talk again. "Every now and again someone will be brave – or stupid – enough to come knocking on my door seeking a deal. Don't worry they won't try to harm you, they fear me too much. Oh and don't go laying web across my castle."

"I won't." She promised.

He finally came to a halt by a gargantuan dark wood door that he easily threw open and entered, she had to lower her head a little to get through but that was all. The room was gorgeous, bright and colorful not dank like her cave.

"I can sleep here?" Asked the Drider in disbelief.

"You can have the dungeon if you'd prefer, it's closer to your den."

"No! Thank you but I like this, it's... amazing."

"Good. I'll be downstairs, you get settled."

With that the man with golden-green skin was gone leaving her alone, he was grateful to finally be able to gather information without having to traipse around that death trap of a forest.

XXXX

The first few days of having a fully grown Drider in his castle had been a little awkward but she'd soon learnt where everything was and they had settled into something that resembled a routine. Rumple had started his 'Complete Encyclopedia of Driders' – yes that was what he was calling it, who was going to argue with the Dark One? - with her dietary requirements and had found that she rather enjoyed tea. Regular spiders couldn't eat solids, they used enzymes to break down their prey and then drank it as though it were a soup however, the Driders were different, due to being magical creatures with a human half they were perfectly capable of eating solids as he'd previously seen. As a child she'd consumed nectar and didn't eat as humans traditionally did, breakfast, lunch and dinner, instead she ate plentifully when food was available and very little when there wasn't much. Truth be told there wasn't that much difference between her and his own dietary needs, they could eat just about everything the other could and in the same quantities, it was just a question of taste preference. Rumpelstiltskin had almost lost track of how many notes he'd made on that subject alone.

"Little Drider, this isn't working." Said Rumpelstiltskin from the head of the long wooden table in the salon; by far the most used room in the castle save for his workroom in the tower.

She dropped her tea cup in alarm. "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, please don't make me go back. Is it because I haven't cleaned the chandelier?"

Rumple giggled in that high pitched tone of his and set down his quill.

"No, not the chandelier. You've done nothing wrong dearie, it's just referring to you constantly as 'the female Drider' is somewhat annoying and bland. I like names, names have power."

"Oh, alright." Her whole body relaxed and she bent down to pick up the cup, a slightly awkward task with so many legs. "I'm so sorry, it's chipped."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her with a raised eyebrow, had he not been able to see the large, black spider half he'd have assumed she was perfectly human.

"It's just a cup." It meant nothing to him, he had more cups, but still she set it back on the tea tray with loving care. "Anyway, dearie, you need a name. A name needs to be fitting, it's not like naming a cat or a children's toy-"

"Then you name me." She interrupted. "I don't know any names except for yours, you call me 'little Drider' but I don't think that's what you had in mind."

"I'd be honoured." He told her in an overly excited tone. "Let me think. It should be something simple but classic, something with pure feminine flare. Hmm, Lacey?" Rumple shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no, lace and silk can't have a spider reference it's too cliché, it needs to be something beautiful."

She smiled at that, no one had ever thought she was beautiful before. It was rather obvious Rumple had become absorbed in his own thoughts so she had the perfect opportunity to observe him. He'd told her she wasn't a monster and she'd actually believed him, but the more she looked at him and got to know the golden-green sinned man the more she started to think he wasn't either. He drank his tea with too much sugar, had seen more of the world than she could ever dream to and had never said so much as a bad word to her. The Drider had become aware of something connecting them though, loneliness, neither of them had a single person that they could say they loved and loved them in return. At least they could be lonely together. Suddenly he snapped his fingers dragging her out of her thoughts and back to the world around her.

"Ahh, I know, the pinnacle of simplistic elegance. Belle, your name is Belle."

"Belle." She repeated, testing out the name. A grin pulled it's way onto her lips. "I like it."

She had a name, a name all of her own and Belle felt like crying but Rumple had picked up his quill again ready to get back to work.

"Good. Now come over here and tell me about Drider young."

Belle did just that, she told him all she knew and spoke slowly so as he could write it down. After a little while Rumple realised that he actually content and dare he say happy with her in his presence, normally he couldn't wait to be rid of others. Rumpelstiltskin would be lying if he said the rest of their conversation hadn't been awkward on his part after he'd realised that.


	5. The Man In The Top Hat

It had been almost two weeks since Rumpelstiltskin had taken in the young Drider that he'd named Belle. She hadn't really affected his life living in the Dark Castle, she was quiet and seemed to make sure she wasn't a bother. Rumple had found he rather liked Belle's company though, she always answered his questions politely and even laughed at his quips though Rumple thought that was probably because she'd not had much experience with humour before. What do you get if you cross a tarantula with a rose? He'd asked during their last session while he'd been jotting down information. I don't know, she'd answered. Neither do I but I don't suggest smelling it. Belle had laughed as though it were hilarious while she sat there with her long legs curled under her. It had seemed as though it were the best joke in the world but in actuality it had been rather poor but that hadn't been the point. The Drider had taken such joy from it, her eyes had brightened and she'd been happy, he'd made her happy and her laugh was beautiful. Driders had always been persevered as evils creatures intent on killing anything they found but Rumple had very quickly learnt that wasn't the case.

Weeks turned to a month and Belle had not just acclimatised to the Castle but her name as well, it certainly suited her. She'd even started learning to cook which he had been rather impressed with. The Dark One had also noticed that Belle smiled at him a lot and also seemed to treat him as a friend, that had confused Rumple because he'd though the concept was as foreign to her as it was to him. The little Drider had no issues touching him or engaging in conversation with him and frankly it unsettled him, then again she believed she was the monster so probably enjoyed being treated without fear or hate. Belle wasn't a monster, she didn't deserve to be hated, he did, she didn't.

Rumpelstiltskin had been sat at his wheel for several hours when Jefferson entered the salon with his usual flamboyance.

"Rumple, my favourite Dark One!" Beamed the younger man as he passed the long wooden table.

"What brings you here, Jefferson?" Asked Rumple without looking up from his straw. "You've visited quite a few times as of late. I didn't know you care, Dearie."

Jefferson laughed at that and perched on one of the pedestals near the Dark One's wheel. Rumpelstiltskin finally turned to the younger man.

"I came to show you my new scarf." Jefferson promptly flaunted the delicate white-grey scarf around his neck.

"Suits you."

Jefferson's eyes widened as he glanced around searching for the female that had spoken but he saw no one.

"Who was that?" He asked Rumpelstiltskin.

The Dark Once grinned, smirked really. "That was Belle."

He pointed to the ceiling with a clawed finger. Slowly, ever so slowly, the realm jumper tilted his head up to look at the high ceilings with flying buttresses. There, directly above his head, was a Drider. A real Drider!

"Oh my Gods!" Jefferson exclaimed and all but ran to hide behind Rumpelstiltskin; an amusing sight. Rumple chuckled.

Belle had been up on the ceiling cleaning the chandeliers, he'd told her several times it wasn't needed but she'd insisted, frankly Rumple regretted ever mentioning the damn things in the first place. Carefully the Drider clambered down to the floor so as she stood by the fire place, only when she was certain Jefferson wouldn't flee did she step towards the two men.

"I'm sorry." She said sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"She won't harm you." Rumple was quick to say. "Belle was the one to provide the silk for your scarf."

The dark-haired man glanced down to the scarf around his neck then back up to the Drider, still wary.

"Oh," he began a tad awkwardly, "thank you. I em, wasn't expecting a Drider eight feet above my head, so, you know, no offence."

"It's okay." Belle smiled. "I get that a lot, well, once or twice when people actually saw me. At least you didn't have a pitchfork and a mob."

That made the realm jumper laugh, he still stood behind Rumple, a subconscious refusal to give up his position of safety.

"She means no harm." Rumpelstiltskin repeated. "Belle is here for me to study."

"Yeah, I get that but why was she up there?" Jefferson loosely gestured upwards.

"Belle was cleaning the chandeliers for me. She liked to be helpful even when it's not needed."

Jefferson nodded to himself seemingly taking in the information, to be honest a Drider in the Dark Castle was still taking some getting used to.

"Okay, makes sense." Did it?

Steadily the dark-haired man regained his composure, he wasn't scared of Belle exactly just a little shocked. He finally stepped out from the safety of Rumpelstiltskin and with as little hesitation as possible held his hand out for Belle to shake, however the Drider just tilted her head and looked at him.

"Oh, right, you don't know what this is. You shake it, it's kind of like a 'hello, nice to meet you' thing." Jefferson turned to Rumple and demonstrated.

Finally she shook his hand.

"So you're the result of Rumple's new Drider obsession. I must say I didn't know Driders could speak let alone be quite so polite and pretty."

"No one did." Said Rumple.

Belle took another step closer, her long black legs strong and precise.

"I like what you did with my silk, it's very nice, nicer than anything I've ever used it for. Rumpelstiltskin makes such beautiful things like that. I can't."

Rumple and Jefferson felt their masculinity in the eyes of other men drain away, most would insist sewing was a woman's work but Jefferson enjoyed it and Rumple had always found it calming.

A short time went by and Belle got the men tea and Rumpelstiltskin found himself thinking it was good for her to talk to someone other than him. Freedom was what she wanted after all but he'd locked her up in his castle; basically moved her from one prison to another only the new one was dryer. Despite that though she'd not seemed to notice, or at least so far she hadn't. In their deal they'd not discussed length of time, both had assumed their deal would reach a conclusion when Rumple had gathered all the information he could on Belle's species, however the Dark One liked her being around. She spoke to him without hate and seemed to trust him which was unheard of for him but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy it. That's it, I'm keeping her, he decided, Rumple would keep Belle with him for as long as possible. She didn't have to know what he was doing, she'd enjoy the extra time out of the forest.

Rumpelstiltskin indulged Belle by letting her chit-chat with Jefferson for as long as she liked, he'd have preferred silence but the Drider deserved some company and Jefferson was the most charismatic and entertaining man Rumple had met. It took hours – during which Rumple even vanished off to take care of some business – for the realm jumper to leave but when he finally did it was clear that Belle had made a new friend. When the Dark One and Drider again he lit the fireplace with a single wave of his hand while Belle went to get the stew she'd been slow cooking all day and if it tasted half as good as it smelled Rumple would have been a happy Dark One.

When Belle returned to the salon she found Rumple already sat in his chair waiting, she carried two full bowls and had a tray of bread rested on the bulbous abdomen of her spider half.

"You'll drop that, dearie, give it here."

Rumpelstiltskin rose to his feet and carefully lifted the tray so as he could set it on the wooden table. Belle's abdomen came up to Rumple's upper chest meaning the rest of her towered over him, she looked dangerous and formidable but the Dark One knew just how harmless she really was.

"I hope this tastes alright, I'm still learning." She told him softly as she folded her legs under herself and Rumple returned to his seat.

"I'm sure it will be delicious, dearie." He ripped off a piece of bread and dunked it into the stew's thick gravy. "But you don't have to cook for me."

Finally he reached for his spoon and brought some of the stew up to his mouth, Rumple couldn't help but let out a small hum of approval, Belle seemed to have a natural talent for cooking... which was surprising for a Drider; especially considering they liquified their meals. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't complaining though, no one had cooked for him in centuries. As they ate Belle offered little titbits about her race, her childhood and everything she could think of. Belle had raised herself and only knew who her mother and mass of siblings long enough to be born, she'd spent very little time with them in the grand scheme of things. Rumpelstiltskin could relate to that, his mother had abandoned him and his father had done the same some years later, he knew what it was like to grow up alone. The Dark One shared none of his past though, he didn't want Belle's pity, instead he made some silly joke about her being independent and was pleased when she laughed.

When their meal was over Belle cleaned up the bowls and tray away but Rumple didn't move, just sat there lost in his thoughts. When the Drider returned she glanced out the windows – that until recently had been nailed down – to see just how dark it had gotten up in the hills. The sight of snow on the peeks still amazed her.

"I'm going to go to bed if you don't need me, Rumpelstiltskin." She said as she walked towards him, each of her eight legs moving in perfect succession.

"No, no, you go sleep, dearie. I've taken too much of your time today."

Belle rested a hand on his shoulder which had Rumple tensing.

"I like talking to you, and I'm here to help you. You could never take up too much of my time."

With that she carefully lowered herself and kissed his cheek. She'd read about kisses in a book he'd given her to help her learn to read, however, from the look on his face she'd done something terribly wrong. Belle stood up straight.

"Goodnight." She said quickly then hastily hurried off to her room.

Despite her fears that she'd done something wrong Belle had mis-read his expression, it wasn't that he didn't like it, it was just shocking. Since he'd been the Dark One only one woman had dared kiss him and Cora was a crazy bitch, then there was Zelena who could only be described as jealous and somewhat obsessional. Yes, his track record with woman wasn't good but Rumple was getting ahead of himself. She'd kissed his cheek to say goodnight, it meant nothing. This girl, this Drider, was just happy to be out of the forest and there he was acting like a teenage boy. Belle cared nothing for him and he only wanted to finish his study of her and her species. Even Cora hadn't affected Rumpelstiltskin quite like Belle and that had to stop. Touch starved, that's all it was.


	6. Gifts

Rumple had been in his lab for three days straight and Belle had started to worry she'd done something to upset him. She would have gone to the the lab at the top of the tower but it was such a narrow staircase and clearly not designed with Driders in mind; too many legs. That was something Belle envied humans for.

That day Belle wandered the gardens taking in the ambiance and the beauty of everything, roses never bloomed in Drider Forest. Rumpelstiltskin had taken her out of the dark forest and let her live in his stunning – if slightly dusty – castle, given her a gift. It was still a little lonely though what with Rumple locked up in his tower, however, occasionally Jefferson came to visit.

"Hello? Dark One?"

Belle's head snapped towards the strangers voice, curiosity quickly gripped her and she made her way over to the voice. The Stranger had her back to Belle so the Drider just followed the woman inside the Castle.

"Rumpelstiltskin doesn't like people wandering in his castle-" She'd intended to say more but the woman's shriek-like scream cut her off; it hurt her sensitive ears.

"Oh Gods!" There was horror in the woman's eyes. "This place is full of beasts!"

"It's alright, I won't hurt you." Belle promised but it didn't matter, the stranger charged out of the door and vanished into the distance.

The Drider just stood there watching the doorway, tears welled in her dazzling blue orbs. Suddenly Rumpelstiltskin was behind her, she could smell his magic as it evaporated.

"What is all the ruddy screaming about? I'm trying to work." Rumple cut himself off when he rounded Belle's long black legs to see the look on her porcelain face.

The Dark One wanted to comfort her but he had no idea how, it had been so long since he'd been in a position to anyone.

"Belle? What happened?" Was all he managed to say, voice a little awkward.

"I'm a monster!" She cried, her tears finally burst forth.

The Drider tried to flee but Rumple grabbed one of her legs to stop her, no easy task, she was easily twice his size.

"No, you're not." He told her sincerely. "Most humans fear what they don't understand, and their fear leads to either running away or killing what's scared them." Suddenly a thought popped into his mind. "Do you _want_ to be human? Is that it?"

Belle sniffled. "S... sometimes I envy them. I'd like to be able to pass by without people screaming. I'd like to be pretty."

Rumpelstiltskin huffed out a laugh. "You'll never be pretty, Belle, because you're already beautiful."

 _Good Gods, did I really just say that?_ Rumpelstiltskin questioned himself critically while Belle cried harder because that was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. With a single flick of his hand Rumpelstiltskin conjured up a handkerchief and offered it to the Drider, after a moment Belle took it so she could dab at her eyes. The Dark One stood there for a few moments in thought then, with a deep breath, he clapped his hands together and conjured something new. When Belle opened her eyes and looked down to Rumple's hands she raised a brow in puzzlement. In his hands was a silver wrist cuff, stunning was the first word that came to mind. It was about four inches long and would have easily covered a third of her forearm, there were cut outs in the metal to show little spiders linked together by web and in places there were slight hints of gold.

"What is it?" Belle finally asked.

"A choice." Rumple answered mysteriously, silence hung between them for a second or two before he explained. "If you put this on you'll have human legs." Belle's eyes went wide. "But _only_ as long as you wear it."

"Really?!"

He'd never seen Belle so happy and it actually birthed some feeling deep inside him. Rumple nodded.

"Really."

"What do you want in return? I can give you more venom or silk if you like."

She'd have given him anything and Rumple knew it, that was when Rumple said something he'd not expected.

"Free of charge, dearie. A gift."

Carefully Rumple pulled Belle's right arm towards him which forced her to bend a little and slipped the cuff on. With a poof of magical smoke Belle's eight Drider legs were replaced by two human ones. She instantly grabbed hold of the Dark One to stop her falling.

"Two legs!"

She beamed but Rumple was more focused on the fact she was naked from the waist down, he quickly averted his gaze and snapped his fingers which clothed her in a simple dress of white and sky blue. Belle continued to grin and laugh, eyes fixed on her legs. For some reason Rumpelstiltskin felt the need to make her happy, he'd never truly felt like that before, not even with Cora or in the beginning when he'd been married. There was just something that drew him to Belle. The Drider's– human's? - tears returned full force and Rumple's ego smiles, _he_ was the one who had made her this happy. He wondered why she affected him so much, why he was addicted to those bold blue orbs of hers.

In a rather unstable manner Belle made to kiss the older man's cheek but stumbled at the last second and crashed into lips instead. It was an accident, he knew that, of course he knew that. Belle knew he didn't care, Rumpelstiltskin was the Dark One, selfish, powerful and always got what he wanted.

Rumple didn't think, didn't speak, his mind got no say in his body's actions. Without warning to himself or Belle, Rumple grabbed the back of Belle's neck and pulled her to him for another kiss. The young woman didn't pull away but he could feel the confusion and lack of skill in her kisses, she tried though, very hard as Belle almost melted into him. When they seperated for air Rumple just looked at her.

"Do you find me desirable now?" She asked after a few moments and Rumple paused, stopped dead was a better description.

"What?" He asked utterly shocked.

"Now I'm human? Two legs not eight."

She was shorter than him now, only by a few inches but it was nice not to have her tower over him; Belle fitted so perfectly against him now.

"Desirable?" Rumpelstiltskin was beyond shocked. "... you want me to? Why?"

He truly didn't understand.

"Because you're a good man, you're good and kind and make me feel like a person rather than a monster."

Rumple stared at her with utter disbelief.

"Belle, you don't know the true meaning of that word. You are _not_ nor have ever been a monster." She smiled up at him.

"That's why I like you."

Rumpelstiltskin still had his arms snaked around Belle in order to keep her upright and it was then that a horrid thought came to mind and had him frowning.

"Is that why you wanted this?" He gestured to the cuff. "So I'd find you attractive?"

A pause. "... Not entirely."

Shyness radiated from her while Rumpelstiltskin tried to wrap his head around someone – especially someone so beautiful – feeling anything other than hate or fear for him. _Be brave, you coward! For once in your miserable life be brave!_ Rumple screamed at himself.

"You didn't need it." His voice shook it a little but the Dark One managed to hide it for the most part. "You were already the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

Her eyes sparkled up at him full of shock. "But I'm a Drider. Now one ever loves a Drider."

"I do."

He told her before he'd fully realised what she'd said and the consequences of such a statement. Before Rumple could brush it off, take it back or whatever it was he was halfway though planning Belle kissed him again, all sloppy and unskilled but certainly didn't lack courage or need. When Rumple started to relax into it Belle nearly toppled them.

"How about you learn to walk?"

"Good idea."

How the last five minutes had occurred Rumple didn't know, frankly his mind was still catching up but he was glad it had. Months he'd spent reluctantly longing for the woman and there she was in his arms. Just two monsters together.


	7. Adventure

Belle awoke in her large bed and stretched, bright sunlight shone through the curtains lighting the large room. However, when Belle got out of bed she flopped down to the hard floor with a thud. Legs! She got real human legs! She'd competently forgotten about the wrist cuff that Rumpelstiltskin had gifted her. The Drider actually had human legs, had done for a few days and was still rather wobbly on them.

Rumple had vanished, a _crucial deal_ apparently but she suspected the man was actually avoiding her after what had happened; his deals didn't usually involve him hiding. Still, Belle didn't complain. She was used to being on her own.

Carefully Belle stood back up and shakily went to select a dress for the day. Ever so carefully she slipped on the dress – a dark pink – then headed down stairs. Her steps were almost ridiculously slow but she'd grown up with eight legs, two were hard to balance on so she could probably be forgiven. Eventually the Drider made her way into the kitchen where she made some toast, just a light breakfast. The fire held off the room's chill but Belle was certainly thankful to settled in the salon amidst Rumple's collection and large fireplace, the chairs were certainly more comfortable. The whole salon was quiet as she ate, too quiet and it reminded her just how much she missed the Dark One.

"He's definitely avoiding me." She grumbled to herself sorrowfully and sighed.

After her toast in a miserable silence Belle decided to practice walking, the more the better, she went back and forth along the large wooden table's length until she no longer needed to hold onto it for support. Belle grinned with a sense of pride, she was starting to get the hang of two legs. Practice made perfect.

Unbeknownst to Belle the Dark One was watching from the doorway, he couldn't help but smile when she released the table and started to move all by herself without wobbling; she really was a fast learner. His unique brown orbs followed her around the room while she quietly examined his vast collection, Drider or human she was beautiful. Rumple had indeed been avoiding her, he didn't believe she could really be attracted to him, he was, well, _him._ Nothing but darkness and anger! Maybe it was because he'd gotten her out of Drider Forest, because he wasn't scared of her. That had to be it. Belle's little crush would end soon enough, she could leave no, go to the market or wherever she wanted. Surly Belle would quickly come across some handsome and brave stranger. She'd realise her grave mistake, Belle didn't care for him, didn't love him. No one could _ever_ love him. Anything she felt for him was just a silly little crush, she'd come to learn he was a monster.

Suddenly a shiver ran up his spine, Rumpelstiltskin had been summoned. With a deep breath he walked into the salon and startled Belle.

"Dearie." She jumped, a hand flew up over her heart as she spun around to face him. "I've been summoned, I shall be back in a few hours."

Once Belle had gotten herself back under control she spoke. "Oh, alright. Should I have supper ready for you?" The Drider asked pleasantly.

"No need, Dearie, but thank you." He'd tried to be polite but Belle appeared hurt and Rumpelstiltskin didn't like that; not one bit.

"Alright." She told him with her head lowered. "Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

Rumple shook his head. "No, Belle. Do as you please, maybe indulge in the library. I'll see you later on this evening."

With that he was gone in a vast puff of magic scented smoke. Alone, Belle was alone again. Rumple had run away, he knew that but it was for the best. She'd realise soon enough.

Belle stood there a time just looking at the space he'd occupied only a few seconds earlier, she repulsed him, that was the only answer that made sense. Belle may have looked human thanks to the spider wrist cuff but Rumple knew exactly what she was, a monster. The Drider sighed and wiped away little tears, she'd got nothing to do but she needed something to take her mind off what had just happened so Belle went back to wandering around the salon examining his collection in an attempt to distract herself, maybe she'd even go wander the gardens.

XXXX

A few days went past and Rumple continued to avoid Belle wherever possible until one afternoon when he was sat at his wheel and Belle had surreptitiously slipped into one of the chairs over by the large fireplace with a book. He'd run out of straw, of course he could easily summon some more with little more than a wave of his hand but then he noticed Belle out of the corner of his eye, she'd been in the gardens but no further and Rumple decided there and then that the time had come for a change. The sooner she went out into the real world the sooner Belle would realise what a mistake she'd made when it came to Rumpelstiltskin; they called him the Dark One for a reason.

"Belle?" He began in a tone softer than he was used to. She peered over at him as he rose to his feet.

"Yes?"

"I'm out of straw and I wondered if you wanted to go to the market and fetch me some more?"

Belle appeared hesitant and rightly so, she'd never been so far from the castle. A well of excitement bubbled inside her but so did fear.

"You think I can?"

Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Belle. I will not force you but I thought you might enjoy the fresh air and adventure, like the women in your books." He tried to sound nonchalant but it didn't really seem to be working. "The village is not far."

Belle clearly thought it all over, she'd never left the castle before but Rumple was right, she'd enjoy the adventure. Belle could do it. She was brave.

"Okay, yes." She smiled up at him. "I'll fetch you some more straw."

"Wonderful." He giggled impishly. "Here." Rumpelstiltskin promptly summoned forth a basket and cloak for the young woman before him, couldn't have her catching a chill. "This should be all you need. You'll find plenty of gold in the cloak pocket, get whatever you want."

"Thank you, Rumple." She flashed him a faint smile and then worry took over. "What if there's no straw?"

Rumple smirked. "Oh, trust me, Dearie, there will be straw. Have fun. You'll be fine."

The Drider nodded and slipped her book mark between the pages then set her book down before she rose to her now steady feet and took the cloak from Rumpelstiltskin. He handed her the basket and she sat it snugly in the crook of her arm.

"Alright, guess I'll be back later. Goodbye, Rumple. See you soon."

"Bye, Belle."

Rumpelstiltskin watched her leave wondering if she would come back. So beautiful, so perfect, a young man was sure to sweep her off her feet and show Belle who she really deserved, but what was the pang of pain that stung his heart? Loneliness again? Or could it have been something else?


	8. The Dark One: Lover

Belle marvelled as she followed the trail towards the village, birds sang and light shone through the viridescent leaves and it wasn't raining! Belle had never seen a forest so bright and lush, she adored every moment, it soothed her soul.

On her way the Drider only stumbled on her two feet twice and she was actually quite proud of herself by the time she got there. The market place was abuzz with activity and no one so much as betted an eyelash at her, she was normal to them, not a monster. That knowledge made her heart swell and a smile grow on her face. Not a single person looked at her with fear, she was human to them.

Belle decided it best to get Rumpelstiltskin his straw before she went off to explore the market, he'd told her to get whatever she wished but the auburn haired beauty wanted to make sure she'd completed her task before she got distracted. Belle was nervous as she slipped through the crowd towards the merchants, her heart fluttered in her chest, everyone she'd ever met before with the exception of Rumpelstiltskin and Jefferson had run screaming from her up until that moment, and even Jefferson had been scared to begin with.

With a deep breath Belle put on her best smile and greeted the balding merchant.

"Hello, I'd like to purchase some straw, please."

The man didn't think twice, he just filled up her basked and Belle paid, no fuss, no nothing, just easy and painless. Belle had never needed to worry. She thanked the merchant and then started to look around the market stalls, with the initial fear out of the way Belle felt far more confident and eagerly investigated the stalls.

The Drider hadn't ever seen anything like a human market before and frankly she loved it all, the hustle and bustle, the children playing. It was heaven compared to Drider Forest.

A while passed and Belle came across a stall selling colorful ribbons, she smiled when she spotted a blue one that just spoke to her, it was wonderful and bright; she had to have it. Belle was a little hesitant to buy it though, Rumple had told her to get what she wanted and he literally spun gold but still it was his money. After a quiet internal debate Belle paid for the ribbon and tucked it into her cloak pocket where it wouldn't get lost then bid the woman at the stall good-day.

When she turned from the stall she noticed some merchants had packed away and many villagers had started to go home, it must have been getting late and Belle suspected Rumpelstiltskin would have been wondering where she'd gotten to.

"Probably best to head back to the castle." She said to herself.

Just as she made her mind up and started to walk back towards the trail she bumped into a much taller and very solid man with a bald head and three friends at his side.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me."

Calmly Belle stepped around the group of men and continued to wards the trail out of the village back to the Dark One's castle. Belle didn't get very far though because that big and dangerous man suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her into a small, narrow, side street where she dropped her basket and straw went everywhere. Pain shot up through her knees when they hit the cobblestones forcing a hiss of pain from her lips.

"What brigs a little rich girl like you all the way out here, huh?" Demanded the bald man with an evil chuckle that his three friends mirrored. "What, you a Noble's daughter that ran away? Surprised you ain't been robbed already."

The man suddenly snapped his fingers and two of the other men pulled Belle to her feet via a tight grasp on her shoulders. Quickly he rummaged in her cloak pockets and pulled out her coin purse, her ribbon fluttered to the floor. The bald man didn't look overly impressed with the quantity of gold Belle had, Rumple had given her enough to get what she wanted but he'd not gone mad.

"This it? Maybe little rich girl has been robbed already." He snarled.

With a sudden, sharp tug Belle managed to pull herself from the two thugs' grasp, once she was free Belle tried to flee but the third friend, a man with flaming red hair, blocked her path and grabbed hold of her again, it was then the bald man spotted the silver wrist cuff on her arm and a smile burst forth onto his pudgy face.

"Ooh, what do we hav' here? This looks nice, give it to me!" He ordered but Belle refused, she couldn't give that away.

"No! Not that, it was a gift. I need it."

The bald man laughed manically. "I don't care if it's a gift, I don't care who gave it to you. Just hand it over."

Still Belle refused, she could let that go. Not only was the wrist cuff a gift from Rumple it was the only thing keeping her human. She kicked and struggled until she managed to break free just as she had with the other men and bolted away but not before the bald man managed to rip her wrist cuff off with a triumphant cry. Her eyes went wide when she was pushed to the ground.

"Rumple!" She yelled as she hit the floor, the name drew the attention of everyone at the market and almost froze the thugs to the spot.

With a puff of smoke Belle's lower half reverted to her eight, black spider legs and in an instant half the market goers fled back to their homes hoping the Drider wouldn't kill them all. The other half though seemed rooted to the spot, especially when there was a second puff of smoke and the Dark One appeared beside his little Drider.

"Belle?" He eyes trailed along her spider half. "Where is your bracelet?"

She pointed to the four men with a glare, and with nothing more than a single snap of his fingers the bracelet appeared on Belle's wrist once more and her legs returned to her. She instantly shot to her feet and cuddled into Rumpelstiltskin's chest in search of safety, he nearly stopped breathing. The angel before him sort comfort from him, she was so warm and smelt wonderful but it wasn't time for such things, Belle was scared and people needed to be punished for that.

"Dark One!" Said the bald thief in a horrified tone.

Rumple just grinned at that deranged way of his and had Belle not had her face buried in his Dragonhide coat he'd have delighted in their fear.

"We're so sorry. We didn't-"

Rumple cut the man's pleas off and pinned him to the nearest wall with a flick of his wrist, the market goers had every opportunity to slip away but they didn't move, everyone wanted to see what would happen no matter how horrible.

"How dare you harm the Lady of the Dark Castle!" Rumple hadn't meant to say that but he couldn't show his shock to the town's folk. "Apologise!"

The bald man's mouth hung open for a moment or two, fear kept him silent but when saw the anger in Rumpelstiltskin's eyes he started to blubber.

"I'm so sorry, Dark One. We all are so-"

Rumpelstiltskin cut him off once more.

"Not me, imbecile! To Belle."

The man still struggled to speak, his voice broke as he shivered with terror.

"I'm sorry, Lady Belle. So sorry."

Belle's eyes widened at the term 'Lady Belle', wasn't that just for wives and daughters of Lords? Belle said nothing though, she could feel the rage inside Rumple.

"Better." The Dark One growled.

He took a step forwards away from the auburn haired beauty and summoned her ribbon from the floor to his hand, he kept his attention on the bold blue as he spoke, voice high pitched and intimidating.

"However, I don't think it's quite good enough, dearie. I don't like people touching what's mine."

With an impish giggle Rumple turned the tall thugs into worms, slithering and pink. He chuckled to himself.

"There, I think that's a better form for you."

With glee he went to stomp on them but Belle suddenly grabbed his arm, it was only then she noticed the villagers watching them, Rumpelstiltskin was left stood there on one leg poised to kill.

"No, please, Rumple, please don't kill them. They don't know any better."

The sorcerer glanced at the beautiful Drider. "That's no excuse, Belle!"

She sighed. "You didn't kill me and I didn't know any better."

Damn Belle and her logic, he couldn't deny her. After a moment Rumpelstiltskin put his foot down softly on the cobbles and sighed. Had he not been Rumpelstiltskin, the sight of him balancing on one leg so long would have been amusing. He just looked at her for a short time wondering if there was any way he could convince her to let him kill them but there wasn't, this was Belle, she wasn't a monster like him no matter how much she thought she was.

He nodded, for her he'd let them live.

"Very well."

"Would you make them human again too? Please?"

He saw the pleading look in her eyes and just caved, he had the feeling that she could make him do just about anything if she really wanted. Rumpelstiltskin sighed and nodded, reluctantly he waved he hand in a very disinterested manner and changed the men back into the grovelling humans they'd previously been. The Dark One glared down at the men, with them slumped on the floor looking panicked and scared Rumple delighted in towering over them with a snarl.

"You'd do well to remember that my Lady's mercy is the only reason you get to live. You talk to her, you touch her, you so much as look at her again and even she will not be able to save your pathetic lives." The bald man's mouth dropped open as though he'd tried to say something but nothing had escaped. "Don't say anything, just look frightened and scurry."

And they did, they fled as quickly as their feet would let them almost stumbling over one another. Rumple chuckled to himself as he returned to Belle, that was when he noticed the remaining villagers, he tilted his head to the side.

"Go back to your knitting, dearies."

The Dark One himself turning his attention to him had the town's folk scattering back to their homes until all who remained on the streets were Rumple and Belle. Rumple approved of the quiet. He looked at the little Drider with fondness.

"Home, I think."

He picked up the basket that Belle had dropped then wrapped an arm around her waist so he could transport them back to the castle. In an instant they were back in the salon and Rumple set the straw filled basket down beside his wheel then set her blue ribbon on the huge table. Belle hadn't moved, hadn't spoken and it actually worried Rumpelstiltskin.

"You're safe now, Belle." He tried to comfort her but she still didn't look at him, just kept her eyes on the floor between them. "However, I don't think you truly needed me. Especially in your Drider form."

The auburn haired beauty didn't confirm it but Rumple knew, she hated the idea of people fearing her even more than they already did.

"My Lady." She finally mumbled, so faint Rumpelstiltskin had to strain to hear it, he let out a questioning noise. "You called me 'my Lady', like I'm yours." Finally she looked up at him and there was a hopeful glint in her cerulean orbs. "Do you want me to be yours?"

Rumpelstiltskin's initial reaction was to flee to his tower and avoid her for the next thousand years but there was such hope in her eyes. No one could ever love him, no one ever had, not really. However, there was Belle stood before him, so hopeful. Maybe only monsters could love monsters.

Finally his mouth opened and a timidly quiet 'yes' slipped out. Belle lit up, her heart soared and with that one expression Rumpelstiltskin thanked whichever part of him and let him be brave for just that second so he could say yes.

"Really?!"

"... If you'll have me." Gods he sounded like a teenager.

"With pleasure."

Rumpelstiltskin beamed, he'd almost forgotten he could genuinely smile rather than just grimace manically. Before he knew what he was doing Rumple had an arm full of the Drider and his lips pressed to hers, she tasted sweet.

"I love you, Rumple."

"I love you too, Belle."

If he wasn't mistaken, the castle got a little bit brighter in that moment.

THE END.


End file.
